So far in the young high school basketball season, the Chapin girls basketball program has faced a brutal pre-district schedule.

But so far, the No. 4-ranked Huskies have more than held their own and on Tuesday night improved their record to 5-2 with an impressive 71-49 home win against No. 5-ranked Franklin.

"We're getting better and we're competing at a good level," said Chapin coach Marlee Webb, whose team has also beaten No. 9 El Dorado and No. 8 Hanks. "I thought we played a very good offensive game and really executed our offense the way I like."

REPORTER

Felix Chavez

Part of Chapin's strength this year is in the paint, and the Huskies got 53 points from posts Chloe Pridgen, Bobbi Bullitt and Jada Ellis as they dominated the Cougars (4-2) inside all night long.

"We felt we could attack in the paint all night," said Pridgen, who led all scorers with 20 points. "Our guards did a good job of getting the ball inside to us and we were able to finish strong. Everyone contributed tonight."

Bullitt added 18 points and Ellis chipped in with 15 points.

The Huskies trailed only once all night and that was 2-0. They led by as much as 26 points at one point.

Chapin also got efficient guard play from starters Samantha Alvarez and Amber Zubiate. The two only combined for 10 points, but made good passes for key shots and also played strong defense, turning up the heat on the Franklin guards.

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The Cougars had 22 turnovers on the night, many of which came on the perimeter.

"We're playing really hard on defense," Alvarez said. "We feel like we have something to prove every game. Right now, we feel good about how we are playing, but we can still get better."

Franklin, which was behind 18-3 after one quarter, never recovered and could not get the lead under double digits.

The Cougars were led by Carlie Akina with 15 points and Ijeoma Nzekwe with 10 points.

Felix Chávez may be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6167.Follow him on Twitter @fchavezeptimes.

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